The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all.

- H. L. Mencken

Many people would sooner die than think; In fact, they do so

-Bertrand Russell

What I have been telling you, from alpha to omega, what is the one great thing the sigil taught me — that everything in life is miraculous. For the sigil taught me that it rests within the power of each of us to awaken at will from a dragging nightmare of life made up of unimportant tasks and tedious useless little habits, to see life as it really is, and to rejoice in its exquisite wonderfulness. If the sigil were proved to be the top of a tomato-can, it would not alter that big fact, nor my fixed faith. No Harrowby, the common names we call things by do not matter — except to show how very dull we are ...

-James Branch Cabell

May 16, 2018 - 10:57 a.m.

Blue Jays Feel Mjollner

I was sure the Mets wouldn't play yesterday or if they did it would be too late to make it worthwhile for me to go. I was wrong. I had been checking on the weather up here on City Island not there at Citi Field. They estimated the game would start at 8:30 instead of the planned 7:00.

An advantage of the late start is that I could eat at home which is both cheaper and healthier. A bonus was that I didn't even have to cook. Our neighbor often brings us food. We had tons in the house including buffalo wings. There were not enough wings for dinner, but he also brought rotisserie chicken, I supplemented it with that. There were also mashed potatoes. All I had to do was pop it in the microwave then add Pete's hot sauce to the buffalo wings and barbecue sauce to the rotisserie. There was also great bread. It was a fine dinner.

It takes me a lot of lead time to get to the game. I left at 6:43 and was surprised that it was just drizzling. It had been pouring not that much earlier. It was raining harder when I got to Pelham where I change buses. I was an idiot and by habit went into the subway, through the turnstiles. It isn't easy not having a brain. I immediately walked out and went to the bus stop. It was now raining hard enough that I needed my umbrella till I got to the bus shelter.

The rain stopped right after I got to Queens. There was a beautiful rainbow when I got off the bus in Flushing. I took it as a sign the Mets would win and said that on Instagram. Do you follow me on Instagram? Horvendile. That's not true. I didn't take it as a sign, I just said I did. I take my ProTruth pledge seriously.

Getting into the stadium was a dream. There were none of the usual long lines. I ignored our assigned seats and sat on the upper level but right behind the plate. I do that most games but this time I walked down from the stairs instead of up. They are great seats, and nobody ever checks.

The matchup was lopsided. The Mets had ace, Noah Syndergaard aka Thor and the Blue Jays Jaime Garcia. I had just dropped Garcia from my Fantasy Baseball team. He was horrible, an ERA of over 6.00. I told Alan that he gave up 5 runs every game. The Mets had their B lineup in there, Cabrera, Nimmo, and Bruce were the only hitters that aren't terrible. The Mets fell behind 2-1; Thor drove in the lone Mets run. Then in the 4th Garcia became the picture he was for me, he gave up 5 runs. His line was 3.7 innings pitched giving up 6 earned runs. I'm glad I got rid of him. The Mets ended up winning 12-2.

As it was a laugher and it takes me a long time to get home Alan and I left after 6 innings. Google maps said I'd be home at 12:30. Google didn't know that it would take me 20 minutes go to one subway stop, I could have walked it in half the time. That meant missing my bus. I didn't get home till 1:00. It took almost two hours. I can make it in an 1:09 when the connections work well. I usually take a bus to Pelham and switch to a bus home. Last night I had to take the 7 train to the Q44 to Parkchester where I got on the 6 train to Pelham where I caught the BX 29, the one bus to City Island. That was not a fun commute. It was worth it for the win. The only thing is I could have stayed at least one more inning and even if the train was slow I'd have made the next Q50 to Pelham. No way I could have known that. Google didn't know.

I'm so happy that I'm going to Met games again. I'm going again next Tuesday. That's how my life is supposed to go. I have few convictions stronger than that baseball, chocolate, friends, and music make my life better.

I said I would start telling you what I listened to while I wrote. Today it's Aoife O'Donovan's Man in a Neon Coat: Live from Cambridge. How did I not know that this existed? I'm friends with Aoife. I'm friends with Anthony da Costa who played guitar. I love Aoife. Nobody loved me enough to tell me. It's wonderful.